Anne (Connolly) McEldowney`s.
Ann was married to James McEldowney from Ballyknock, Maghera. He liked to write songs/poems about the Sixtowns.
This cottage was attached to the two storey house on the left. Two families of the Connolly’s lived on this farmstead which had good outhouses built around it. The Connolly’s were said to have moved up to Moyard from Cockhill because of disease among their cattle. This must have happened at some time between 1832 and 1856, as there are no Connollys listed for Moyard for 1832. The first mention of them, is of brothers Francis and John who both were married. Francis died on 1st January 1850, aged 56 and his wife Bridget died 8th December 1879, aged 80. It would appear that they had no children.
John Connolly died 19th January 1881, aged 94. There is no record of his wife but he had one son Michael and four daughters, Catherine, Mary ,Bridget and Ann.
The two family houses stood on the same street and only one of them resembles the original house. The metal roof ensured that this old cottage survived the test of time. Recently, a family member, John, did some renovation work just to help preserve the building for a while longer. Inside the house is the same as it was in the 1940`s.
In 1901, John Connolly and his sister Catherine 58, lived in this house.
This house is undergoing some repairs at present and this will help save another of our old traditional houses.